Caviar, expensive carpets and jewelry: New ESI report sheds lights on Azerbaijani regime’s corrupt schemes

The European Stability Initiative (ESI) has published a new report on Azerbaijan revealing new facts about the autocratic regime’s corrupt practices in international politics.

The second Caviar Diplomacy report, entitled The European Swamp, takes a closer look into the continuing efforts towards buying high-ranking European officials.

The first report, which was published in 2012, was widely covered by the international media, receiving what the authors called a disappointing official reaction coupled with indifference.

This time, the authors have focused on the Azerbaijani delegates to the PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe), especially Ehan Suleymanov, a chief lobbyist who was behind the corrupt schemes in Brussels.

The 20-page report provides a detailed description as to how the corruption of MPs proceeded “from early visits with precious gifts meant to test the beneficiaries’ reactions, to long-term contracts involving huge sums of money.”

The full document can be accessed here